Interview

INTERVIEW:END. 創始人和市場部經理Christiaan & John & Simon

END. 這家位於英國Newcastle 的服飾店鋪,憑藉著敏銳的時尚視角,在年輕群體中贏得了非常大的關注度,就算是亞洲也同樣擁有著不俗的人氣。明年將會是END. 的十週年,Simon Lister 也有透入明年將會有更多地驚喜等待著大家。

END. 這家位於英國Newcastle 的服飾店鋪,憑藉著敏銳的時尚視角,在年輕群體中贏得了非常大的關注度,就算是在亞洲也同樣擁有著不俗的人氣。END. 於2005年誕生,由Christiaan & John 兩位剛從學校走出來的大學生所開設。因為他們在學校期間對時尚就充滿著興趣,加上Newcastle 當地時尚男裝的空白,於是一氣呵成開了首家主打街頭潮流的服飾店鋪,以滿足當地龐大的年輕群體。

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一年後,Christiaan & John 從實體店進軍Online Shop,讓身處Newcastle 以外的顧客也能買到END. 的產品。對於Online Shop,END. 的市場部經理Simon Lister 是這樣認為的:“我覺得Online Shop 最為重要的就是圖片,因為顧客看不到實物,所以我們盡量把產品圖片這一環做好。其次通過增加社交網站和在線聊天的功能,與顧客取得更好的交流,它能讓顧客體會到他們對於我們的重要性。” 然而Online Shop 對於同是Buyer 的Christiaan & John 來說,則是可以聽到顧客意見的一個良好平台,這可以讓他們得到很多寶貴信息以面對接下來的全球採購。

2009 年,Christiaan & John 又開設了一家名為End Hunting Co. 的男裝店鋪。相比於END.,這是一家更為成熟的男裝店鋪,從街頭潮流演變成更加Casual、Outdoors、Heritage 等時尚風格。開設這家店鋪也和當初我們做此次採訪的猜想一樣—— 因為當初年輕客戶群的逐漸成熟和本身穿著風格和喜好的改變。

時間過得很快,轉眼已是9 年的時間。END. 在今年為大家帶來了比以往更加豐富的聯名產品,這也為END. 增強了更廣的品牌知名度。明年將會是END. 的10 週年,Simon Lister 也有透入明年將會有更多地驚喜等待著大家,除了聯名系列還將會擁有新的店鋪,而地址依舊選擇在伴隨他們成長的Newcastle。

Christiaan & John:

We know that END. was set up in 2005 when you just graduated from university. Did you dream of running a clothing store when you were students?
END. 創辦於2005年,而那個時候也是你們剛剛從大學畢業,所以你們在校園期間就萌生開服裝店舖的想法了嗎?

We’ve always had an interest in fashion, but I wouldn’t say it was our dream to run a clothing store. It was more that we were fresh out of university and spotted a gap in the market. Our passion and interest for fashion, the gap in the market and our fresh faced drive and ambitious seemed like a perfect combination to give it a shot.
其實我們在校園期間就一直對時尚充滿著興趣,但是當時開一家服裝店鋪並不是我們的夢想。而是在我們走出校門後,發現了市場上的一個空白,更是燃起了我們對時尚的興趣,於是我們抓住時機開啟了第一家服裝店鋪。

Both END. and End Hunting Co. are located in Newcastle. Could you share with us why Newcastle is so attractive to you?
END. 和End Hunting Co. 都將店鋪地址選擇在了Newcastle,這裡吸引你們開店的理由是什麼?

We both studied here and during this time we grew a real affinity to Newcastle. It is quite a compact city centre when compared with others and it has a thriving restaurant, bar, music scene along with friendly Geordie locals and a student population of over 90,000. It all makes for a great place to live and what we saw was needed was a solid menswear store. I guess the rest is history.
選擇在Newcastle 原因很簡單,我們都是在這裡讀的書,這個地方擁有我們很多的記憶。Newcastle 的市中心相對英國其他大城市就顯得很緊湊,這裡擁有豐富的餐廳、酒吧等,最重要的是還有超過90,000 名學生,而我們認為真正時尚的男裝店鋪卻沒有,所以這就是我們選擇在Newcastle 的理由。

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In 2009, you established another clothing store – End Hunting Co., targeting mature style. Does it suggest a change in your dressing style and preference? Or is it just a means to meet the demand of the market?
你們在2009年開設了一家更為成熟的店鋪End Hunting Co.,這是否意味著你們的穿著風格和喜好開始改變,還是只是順應市場需求?

When we first started out it was very much all about the sneakers/street-wear which demographically we see as our younger customer base. Over time these customers generally follow the same journey and start to get into the casual/outerwear brands that we stock in End Hunting Co.. This of course also follows our own tastes and journey through men’s style and fashion.
剛我們有提到Newcastle 擁有90,000 名學生,年輕人大都喜愛穿運動鞋和一些街頭服飾,所以我們看到的是我們的年輕的客戶群。隨著時間的推移,每個人都會有著成長的經歷,包括我們自己,於是我們開啟了一家相對成熟以休閒和戶外為主打風格的End Hunting Co.。

You are not only the directors but also buyers of your store. Are there any criteria you would follow to decide which brands and products to choose?
你們是店舖的Director,同樣也是Buyer,所以你們挑選品牌和產品的時候有什麼樣的標準?

We try and go to all the major tradeshows throughout the year and we listen to what our customers are telling us both in-store and online. Ultimately everyone that works here is pretty obsessed with menswear so there is never a shortage of new brands to check out and ideas to push things forward.
至於挑選品牌和產品的標準,我們每年都會盡可能的去各大品牌展會吸取新的流行趨勢,開闊我們的視野以挑選到合適的品牌和產品。我們也會從我們的實體店鋪和線上店鋪聽取客戶的意見,所以從來都不缺乏新鮮品牌、產品和Ideas 來推動我們挑選的標準。

We noticed that the influences of many Japanese brands are decreasing in recent years. However, Japanese brands still take up a large proportion of the products sold by END. We would be interested to know how you and your customers think of Japanese brands.
其實日本的許多潮流品牌現在在亞洲的影響力已經大不如前了,留意到END. 售賣的品牌,而日本品牌佔了很大的比例,所以我想知道你們和你們的顧客是如何看待日本品牌的?

Ultimately we are passionate about every brand we stock (otherwise we wouldn’t stock it). Our affinity to the Japanese brands comes from taking trips there each season and building a rapport with the guys behind each brand. We feel that by offering these brands to our customers we are providing a real point of difference to our stores, as often these brands are very difficult to get hold of outside of Japan.
我想每個地區的客戶消費都會存在差異。我們熱愛日本的許多品牌,否則也不會代理這麼多日本品牌。我們和品牌的創始人建立了良好的關係,所以我們可以拿到許多比較特別的商品給我們的顧客,而這也是吸引顧客的重要原因。

It has been 9 years since END. was founded. Did you experience any changes or gain anything during this time?
你們已經開店9 年了,你們覺得給自己的生活帶來了什麼樣的變化以及有哪些新的收穫?

A lot has changed over the years. Trends and styles come and go, and back when we first started out ecommerce was really in its infancy. For us we’ve tried to stick with products and brands we are into and present them both in-store and online in a way that resonates with our customers.
這9 年裡確實改變了我們許多,也收穫了許多,從當初的興趣慢慢形成一種責任感。我們一直努力堅持自己的風格,選擇適合我們的產品和品牌給我們的顧客。我們今後也會更加努力去創造出更多讓人驚喜的時刻。

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Simon Lister:

We know that you are the Marketing Manager of END. Could you share with us the reason why you chose this field and joined END.?
你的身份是END.的Marketing Manager,當初是什麼原因讓你加入END.並從事這樣的工作?

Since school I’ve always had an interest in marketing and always wanted to be involved in some way. I was always mesmerized by the amazing car adverts on TV that VW/Audi produced. That notion of a car advert, next to a soft drink advert. One with the power for you to immediately go off the next day and buy said carbonated drink; and the other a branding exercise, like a dripping tap into your consciousness. I studied marketing at Northumbria University and prior to END., I worked my way up the ladder at a software company looking after their global marketing strategy. During that time I won a scholarship to attend Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, then, around two years ago I had the opportunity to join the team here and jumped at the chance. I’ve been lucky enough to travel a fair bit over the years and take in different cultures, styles and fashion across the world and it is something I’ve always been passionate about, so working for END. is pretty much a dream job.
當我還是個學生的時候,就對Marketing 很感興趣,並想做些與之相關的事情。我總是被電視上的那些Volkswagen China(大眾)和Audi(奧迪)的汽車廣告所迷住。那些汽車廣告的概念就像另一個飲料廣告的那樣強大,那個可以讓你第二天蹺班乖乖去買的碳酸飲料廣告,它們都讓人印象深刻。我在Northumbria 大學學習的Marketing,在我去END. 之前,我曾在一家軟件公司為他們做過全球市場策略,那時候還得了可以去芝加哥的Kellogg School of Management 學習的獎學金,然後大約在兩年前我得到了在END. 工作的機會。幸運的是,這些年我遊歷了許多地方也浸染了全世界不同的文化,那是我一直以來很熱衷的事,所以為END. 工作對於我來說是夢寐以求的。

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We noticed that there are more cooperation between END. and other brands in 2014 than in the past years. Could you please share the reasons of it? What would you consider when you choose cooperation partners?
END. 在2014年和品牌的聯名合作遠遠大於往年,為什麼在今年這麼頻繁的合作,你在挑選合作對象時會考慮哪些因素?

We have some really exciting plans happening in the next 12 months. We’ve been working hard with a number of collaborative partners on product that I think builds upon the success we’ve had with the Saucony Shadow 5000 “Burger,” Reebok Insta Pump “Clarets” and the Wood Wood capsule collection we recently launched. I’d like to think that we can cement ourselves as a big player in the collaborative product world. These projects take up a lot of time, but drive huge amounts of traffic to the website and put our brand in the spotlight. Being involved with them from pitch to design, to first sample, to then bringing them to market is a really satisfying process.
我們在接下來的一年裡會有許多很棒的計劃。我們正在合作一些出色的產品,正如我們之前做Saucony Shadow 5000 “Burger”、Reebok Insta Pump “Clarets” 和最近啟動的Wood Wood 膠囊系列那樣。作為一個在合作產品領域的“大玩家”,我們自然會不斷地加強。這些企劃花費了很多時間,但最終的效果非常好,同時也增加了我們的品牌知名度。從概念的闡述到第一個樣品,然後再把它們帶向市場,是一個很讓人滿足的過程。

Besides physical stores, END. also has its online shop. We are interested to know what means you would take to increase the online sales volume.
END. 除了實體店鋪還有自己的Online Shop,對於提升Online Shop 的銷售額,你有哪些心得?

I see the traditional website/blog model is a very one way “published” communication. With social media and the LiveChat functionality on the site, it is all about the instant engagement with our customers and having a two-way conversation with them. Good communication and engaging with customers makes them feel valued. I also work very hard with all of the publishers that we support, to make sure they have product they need for shoots and that our affiliates are up to date with latest products and content we’ve put together.
我覺得傳統的網站和博客是非常單向性的傳播方式。因此我們在網站上增加了社交網站和在線聊天的功能,如此一來我們便能和顧客有即時的,雙向的交流。這一點很重要,它能讓顧客體會到他們對於我們的重要性。我們同樣為我們所支持的出版商全力提供拍攝所需的產品,來保證他們的內容都是最新的。

What kind of changes have you brought to END.?
在你加入END. 的這些年,你覺得給END. 帶來了哪些變化?

Everything from a marketing perspective that we do here, we measure and track. After any campaigns have gone out the door, we measure the effectiveness and from there then build what we’ve learned from the results into our next campaigns. It is a continuous evolution and we’re always tweaking and testing.
我會追踪每一個所作出的市場提案,看看它們的效果,然後把學習到的經驗用到下次的提案上。這是一個持續的進步過程,我們總是在調整著自身,這也讓我和END. 一起挑戰變化和共同進步。

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End.:
4 High Bridge
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 1EN
Tel: 0191 230 3629

End Hunting Co.:
6 High Bridge
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 1EN
Tel: 0191 261 1923

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